This is shown by the new ICT pay analysis of the IG Metall trade union, where ICT workers can also check and compare their own salary.

To have or not to have a collective agreement is a significant question. It makes a noticeable, big difference, especially in the ICT sector. ICT employees with collective agreements, as the current ICT pay analysis 2022/23 of IG Metall shows, earn on average 14,9 percent more money than their colleagues without collective agreements. The annual survey of wages in the ICT sector showed average income increases of 4,1 percent across all sectors as of 31 December 2022.

The analysis, for which more than 42.000 pay records were surveyed in 123 companies, clearly showed that companies covered by collective agreements perform better than companies not covered by collective agreements in a year-on-year comparison: the positive effect of collective agreement coverage is particularly clear in the example of the professional category of software engineers. In hierarchy level 3, senior software specialist, the average income of employees covered by collective agreements is more than 17 percent or 12.205 euros higher than employees without collective agreements.

"The results of the survey confirm that employees in companies with collective agreements are better paid. Considering the shortage of skilled workers in IT professions, IT professionals will base their job and career decisions even more on whether their employer is covered by collective agreements," explains Christiane Benner, second chairwoman of IG Metall. "Our offer increases transparency on incomes for employees in the IT sector.”

Shorter working hours with collective agreements

In its annual ICT pay analysis, IG Metall also surveys average weekly working hours: more than three quarters of employees with collective agreements work 37,5 hours or less. This compares to only 5 percent of employees without a collective agreement. Over 91 percent work 40 hours a week. Despite the shorter working hours, employees with a collective agreement have a higher annual wage.

Check and compare your salary

The results of the 24th survey can be found on the internet at www.itk-entgeltanalyse.igmetall.de (in German). Further background information and analyses are available for works councils, trusted members and other workplace activists - if you are interested, please contact us via e-mail: itkdon't want spam(at)igmetall.de

Created by: Malte Roehricht